Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1887-03-24
TRONTON. MO- THURSDAY. MARCH u, 1873
George and the Land Question.
IRoNToN, Mo-, March 9th, 1887

| lhONIoN, MO, OlIt, 1905.
Ed. Registe1-In an article publish
; ed in a recent issue of your paper, you
humble servant endeavored to set ou
some of the reasons why tand shall nc
be held by the state fer the benefit {
all citizens alike, and why, if land wa
to be held in common, persons not cit
zens of given state were as much ent
tied to share therein by title of natura
Ijustice as were the citizens of said state
Herein I shall endeavor to show tn
impossibility, impolicy and injustice O
a wholesale confiscation of the propert,
of the citizen for the benefit of th'
masses of the people.
And just here I will say that thi.
subject should be discussed in spiri
of abstract right and truth, divorced
from all personal interest. And in thai
spirit / shall endeavor to handle it
For have no fear of the land theories
of the socialists ever being adopted in
America; and even if they were adopt.
ed, [ would not be a loser, for I oaUn
not q foot of ground in the Uorld, and
but few of the other evidences of prop.
erty. Therefore, not opposing these
land theories from interest may ar
que that 1 am solely swayed in my
| views by abstract right and truth.
Every foot of land, in every civilized
| country, has, at present, an owner.
Every acre is held either by the indi-
vidual citizen or by the state. That
now held by the state in proportion to
whole number acres is small, and is
rapidly growing smaller, the great
bulk being held by the individual ten
ant, and for which he has paid value,
for which the state has received value,
ceiving value, in increased revenue.
States having long ago adopted that
wise rule of policy which seeks to have
as many actual and individual owners
and occupiers as possible; the smaller
the holdings, and more numerous the
holders, the better. In those coun-
tries where the populace ceased to be
mere roaming barbarians, and became
fixed and settled, within certain know
boundaries, and, Gf such a time ever
existed) before any man had laid claim
to any particular locality or tract of
land, from the very nature of things,
for the preservation of order, for the
recognition of private right, to prevent
our, as yet, rude foretathers vindicat-
ing tht ir rival claims vi ct arnis, it
tecan1c necessary that there should be
some common source or imminent of
titIe, with guaranty of sufficient
strength, and solemnity, to protect the
holder in the enjoyment of his own.
Something, in fact, other than the oc
cupiers own sword, buckler, and spear.
And at this period, land was in, ex-
actly, the same position, to which
these theorists, whom I am presumpt-
uously,it may be, endeavoring to refute.
would again and now reduce it. All
land was then the property of the
whole propIe, and no one man owned
any. But at that day the human in
telligence had not been developed as it
has been since to such a high state;
then, they were governed, universally,
by practical exerience and practical re-
suit. They had not been educated,
their minds had not been refined, as
they are now, to such an extent, that
genius and metaphysics have brought
the lands of sanity and insanity into
close contiguity. They did not then
think it possible to copy More's Uto-
pian Dream nor to establish with
earthly hands aud earthly laws, the
the long predicted millennium. Much
learning had not made then mad.
Then, since these poor, ignorant, but
arise people, none of whom, probably,
could either read or write, were deter
mined to Lold land in severalty, and,
not IN common, what better source and
guaranty was there or could there be
than that which changed them from
brutes to men? What better than that
which, to them, represented the gov
ernment of God upon earth? What
better than governmental guarantee?
And what better precedent did that
government need than that first war
ranty deed, wherein God was grantor
and Adam grantee, or the later be-
tween same grantor and good old Abra-
ham? Thus common consent erected
human government, by common con-
sent government adopted rules and
laws for human observance, and COM
mon consent invested that government
with title to all property, real and per-
sonal, then existent with its bounds.
And each citizen, in that original di-
vision, received from the state, directly
or indirectly, all the land necessary to
his needs, or adequate to his deserts.
And those who now have less than
their Qadntone, have forfeited the same
by their own naisdoing or by their own
non-doing. And even if this be untrue
no citizen of the United States need
howl in vain for land or cry aloud for
a reiiyision OF wealth, for by economis-
ing the money which he now spends
in month or two in gratifying bis
lusts he will have saved wherewithal
to purchase from government, under
homestead and pre-emption laws, that
which he desires to take, to confiscate